News

Major steps for new East Lothian town

Turley has helped to secure approval for three separate planning applications, helping to pave the way for the next steps in the creation of one of Scotland’s newest towns.

We provided expert Planning services on the three applications, which East Lothian Council Planning Committee has unanimously approved. These applications relate to Blindwells, where 1,600 new homes are to be constructed together with the infrastructure, employment, town centre and educational amenities required for modern living.

Now the green light has been given for the next stage of infrastructure, Hargreaves Land, which is behind the Blindwells scheme, can continue to deliver key elements of the project’s design, including the road and footpath network that will serve the future Blindwells Primary School, large areas of open space at Princes Loch which will become a beauty spot for the leisure and recreation of residents and visitors alike, and Princes Park, a central area of green space for community use.

The council also approved an update to the indicative masterplan for the entire Blindwells site that was originally approved in 2017, providing a framework for future planning applications.

And the final application approved earlier this month allows for work to start by Ogilvie Homes on 77 new houses within the north west of the site, 30 per cent of which will be affordable housing.

Bruce Lindsay, Development Director at Hargreaves Land, said: 

“We are delighted to receive these approvals as they represent a big step towards the culmination of our vision for Blindwells, which will be a vibrant and idyllic town with an impeccable standard of living, a wide variety of housing types and an environment which will attract high-calibre businesses to serve this newly-formed community for generations to come.

“Our thanks to our planning consultant partners at Turley, who handled these applications on our behalf, for their attention to detail, and to the members of the committee for helping us towards such solid progress.”

Kate Donald, Director, added: 

“It’s truly a pleasure to be part of helping such an ambitious development take shape, one that will help address Scotland’s shortage of quality homes, as well as developing a new destination for business and leisure within East Lothian.”

Find out more about the Blindwells scheme here.

5 July 2022